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Form 990 processing changes

As of January 8, the IRS is returning Form 990 series returns filed on paper – and rejecting electronically filed returns – when they are incomplete or the wrong return. IRS.gov answers the question What happens if my Form 990 is missing information or a schedule, or is the wrong return?

Form 990-EZ reminders

Tax-exempt organizations with annual gross receipts under $200,000 and assets under $500,000 (at the end of the reporting period) can use Form 990-EZ, Short Form Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, to meet their annual filing requirement. This means you’ll submit less information and fewer schedules than the “full” Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax.

Form 990-EZ includes “assistive” features designed to make filing easier, quicker, and more accurate. These 29 “help buttons” don’t replace the instructions, but they do alert the filer to traditionally troublesome areas and have decreased the error rate for paper-filed returns.

The IRS encourages exempt organizations to file electronically, noting the error rate for electronically-filed returns was only 1% for 2017. A list of companies providing this service is on IRS.gov.

Form 990-series returns are due on the 15th day of the fifth month after an organization’s tax year ends. For organizations using the calendar year as their tax year, May 15 is the deadline to file for 2017. If you need an extension of time to file, use Form 8868, Application of Extension of Time to File an Exempt Organization Return.

Form 990 series returns filing deadline postponed until June 29 for victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

Form 990 Overview Course

Maintaining 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status is crucial to the success of a charitable organization and most need to submit an annual Form 990-series return. This Form 990 overview course shows you which forms to file and when they are due, and provides tips to help prepare your form.

Refunds Worth $1.1 Billion Waiting to be Claimed

Unclaimed federal income tax refunds totaling $1.1 billion may be waiting for 1 million taxpayers who did not file a 2014 federal income tax return. Time is running out. To collect these refunds, taxpayers must file their 2014 tax return by April 17, 2018.

Protect Yourself from Identity Theft

The IRS reminds you that every year, people fall prey to tax scams. We’re highlighting three of the scams on the list of 2018 Dirty Dozen Tax Scams:

Phone Scams: Con artists claiming to be IRS officials threaten police arrest, deportation, license revocation if the victim doesn’t pay a bogus tax bill.
Phishing: Taxpayers need to be on guard against fake emails or websites looking to steal personal information. Criminals may pose as a person in your organization you trust or recognize requesting sensitive information.
Identity Theft: Criminals sometimes file fraudulent returns using information from a phishing scam, with a refund being deposited into the taxpayer’s bank account. They then use a phone scam to claim to be the IRS and ask for that money back.

If you have a technical or procedural question about Exempt Organizations, visit the Charities and Nonprofits homepage.

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